Politician Grandstanding About Police Checkpoint App Results In Doubling Of Sales

from the schumer,-meet-streisand dept

Fri, May 20th 2011 7:23am — Mike Masnick

We mentioned, recently, Senator Chuck Schumer's misinformed grandstanding against a mobile app that alerts people to where police checkpoints are located, as he put pressure on both Google and Apple to block the app, despite the app not breaking the law anywhere. A few other Senators joined Schumer in this grandstanding effort... and all it seems to have done is double the sale of the app. Apparently, having Senators think you're an abomination is good for sales.

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Filed Under: censorship, chuck schumer, dui checkpoints

23 Comments

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Capitalist Lion Tamer (profile), 20 May 2011 @ 7:41am

Excellent.
It's always good to see the law of unintended consequences working as, um, intended...

Nothing like some shouty publicity from short-sighted politicians to help Streisand your app into the black.
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Don, 20 May 2011 @ 7:50am

I have never seen a country that gets its members of government so up in arms about everything. I can see the U.S. turning into a dictatorship before long.
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Anonymous Coward, 20 May 2011 @ 7:51am

Um, the cops always broadcast that shit all over the news, which has always baffled me. I'm all for checkpoints, but why would they tell everybody where they were so drunk drivers can avoid them?
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Richard (profile), 20 May 2011 @ 7:58am

Re:
why would they tell everybody where they were so drunk drivers can avoid them?
If you're drunk enough then having the information isn't going to help -
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Anonymous Coward, 20 May 2011 @ 7:59am

Re:
Because in some states (Ohio for sure) they are required by law to do so.
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kcritter46, 20 May 2011 @ 8:00am

We are owners of the constitution and the law. We pay them to enforce it, sadly they break the constitution in the name of protecting us daily. It is time that someone with some smarts has finally found a way to watch them for a change. More apps. and devices should be created giving back to the citizens the opportunity to police them for a change. Thank you to the creator of this application and shame on a law maker who would try to outlaw or ban the app.
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PRMan, 20 May 2011 @ 8:00am

Re:
Ratings
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Pickle Monger (profile), 20 May 2011 @ 8:04am

Re:
In Quebec, the location of red-light and speed cameras are on various gov't web sites. And the areas with speed trap cameras have the appropriate signage on the roads. And the police still get millions of dollars in fines. JUst the other day a friend of mine was saying that he knew there was a camera but he was stressed out and didn't slow down... $400 +/-...
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Pickle Monger (profile), 20 May 2011 @ 8:08am

"A few other Senators joined Schumer in this grandstanding effort... and all it seems to have done is double the sale of the app. Apparently, having Senators think you're an abomination is good for sales."

There's an old joke:
A robber stops a man and says:
- Give me your money!
- How dare you?! I'm a United States Senator!
- In that case, give me my money!
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Matthew A. Sawtell, 20 May 2011 @ 8:12am

Hm... Short Memory Time Here?
Remember Al Gore and Company getting there collective butts handled to them (by who Dee Snider actually said was the sickest headbanger of all) John Denver about Government Mandated Lables on Record Album Covers?
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Anonymous Coward, 20 May 2011 @ 8:16am

Re: Hm... Short Memory Time Here?
If it's good enough for Frank Zappa, it's good enough for me.
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DannyB (profile), 20 May 2011 @ 8:32am

Re:
They can just patent the constitution and then, despite your ownership, can sue you whenever you protest or otherwise attempt to exercise your rights.

Patent infringement!
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Anonymous Coward, 20 May 2011 @ 8:51am

"Apparently, having Senators think you're an abomination is good for sales."

So you're saying that this is nothing more than an intentional marketing campaign? Maybe the app developers secretly paid these senators to help them advertise their aps?
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Anonymous Coward, 20 May 2011 @ 8:54am

Re:
I think that joke went more like

"Give me your money"
"You can't take my money, I'm an IRS agent"
"In that case, give me my money"

Then again, I'm sure different variants exist.
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Anonymous Coward, 20 May 2011 @ 8:54am

Re:
apps *
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umccullough (profile), 20 May 2011 @ 10:07am

Re:
Because the primary point of checkpoints are to prevent people from drinking and driving in the first place - if they know they're likely to encounter one, they are probably less likely to drink and drive.

Sometimes people just need a reminder that what they're about to do is not only dangerous, but also illegal, and they're gonna go to jail if they get caught.

The people who are gonna do it anyway probably won't care.
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Doug D (profile), 20 May 2011 @ 10:31am

Re:
In my opinion, there are two reasons:

1) It's the law and they're required to. The reason for the law is ...
2) The whole point is to keep people from driving drunk. The cops are trying to keep you off the road by advertising heavy enforcement. They want to catch the drunks but they would rather there be fewer drunks in the first place.
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Jay (profile), 20 May 2011 @ 10:45am

Re:
Before long?

Have you seen the Patriot Act?

PROTECT IP?

The death of the 4th Amendment? Coming soon to a state near you?

It's safe to say that we just haven't realized how dictatorial a two party system could be.

It makes me almost want to quote Niccolo Machiavelleli...
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Michial Thompson, 20 May 2011 @ 11:17am

Re:
The United States *IS* already a dictatorship. The problem isn't what we are, the problem is that no one come into this country and seized control. This country voted to hand over control, so we still call it a democracy.

No country can be ruled iron fisted by one person, even the worst of the dictators could not control the country alone. In our case it's congress that dictates our lives. In other countries its called something else. is all.
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techturf (profile), 20 May 2011 @ 11:24am

The real question is....
where can you get this for android?
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Pips, 20 May 2011 @ 11:49am

Re:
I have never seen a country that gets its members of government so up in arms about everything. I can see the U.S. turning into a dictatorship before long.

Because if they didn't it would look like they're doing nothing. Most laws aren't passed with good intentions, they're passed because the politicians have to look like they're doing something. They want to keep their jobs like anyone else, they want to get paid and retire with nice benefits. Like any other job, you appear to look like you're doing nothing, you get let go.
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Shawn Schmidt (profile), 20 May 2011 @ 1:56pm

Press
It's true what they say. There is no such thing as bad press.
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Dale Dijkstra, 20 May 2011 @ 11:11pm

Shocking
Senator Chuckie Schumer engaging in misinformed grandstanding? I'm shocked! I'm surprised! I'm apoplectic!
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